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Full Idea
A simple causal theory of content has the 'content indeterminacy' problem - that the presence of a cow causes 'a cow is present', but also 'an animal is present' and 'a biological organism is present'.
Gist of Idea
Cause won't explain content, because one cause can produce several contents
Source
Peter Schulte (Mental Content [2023], 4.1)
Book Ref
Schulte,Peter: 'Mental Content' [CUP 2023], p.22
A Reaction
That only rules out the 'simple' version. We just need to add that the cause (cow experience) is shaped by current knowledge and interests. Someone buying cows and someone terrified of them thereby produce different concepts.
| 3629 | All ideas are adventitious, and come from the senses [Gassendi on Descartes] |
| 2452 | Knowing the cause of a thought is almost knowing its content [Fodor] |
| 3012 | Do identical thoughts have identical causal roles? [Fodor] |
| 2536 | Do facts cause thoughts, or embody them, or what? [Sturgeon] |
| 3119 | Even 'mass' cannot be defined in causal terms [Segal] |
| 3118 | If thoughts ARE causal, we can't explain how they cause things [Segal] |
| 23797 | Cause won't explain content, because one cause can produce several contents [Schulte] |